Leaked lists of banned websites
"closely resemble" the government's
official list, according to Australian insiders

March
25, 2009 (CAP Newswire) -- At first, Australia
Communications Minister and Senator Stephen Conroy
denied that the recent lists of websites that
appeared on Wikileaks (a website dedicated to
publishing and commenting on “leaked documents
alleging government and corporate misconduct”)
had any connection to the Australian government's
official watchdog lists.

Now,
it appears that he may be changing his story.

"Senator
Conroy admitted that the latest list, dated March
18th, 'seemed to be close’ to ACMA’s
current blacklist," writes Chloe Lake, Technology
Editor for Australia’s news.com.au, in an
article from today’s online edition.

(ACMA,
or the Australian Communications and Media Authority,
is the department that mandates government intervention
in that country's media and communications. An
official government blacklist of Internet sites
would most likely come from this office.)

What
was really controversial about last week’s
leaked lists, though, was the inclusion of many
reputable, widely respected companies among the
thousands of pornography and criminal activity-related
websites -- including Betfair, the world's largest
betting exchange.

Many
in the Australian media are understandably upset
at the list, and the implications it represents
-- that the Aussie government can randomly select
which Internet destinations it allows its citizens
to visit, without any kind of public hearing on
the matter.

“When
‘they’ (‘they’ usually
being the government) tell us it’s ... for
our own good and to ‘trust us’, it’s
time to be concerned,” Media
Man Australia’s Greg Tingle told
CAP. “The recent actions by the Australian
government regarding censorship of the Internet
are the sort of actions that inspire riots, something
our friends in America and France would be well
aware of.

“When
things become ‘illegal’ or ‘banned’,
the world history books effectively show that
these matters become more popular, often more
profitable, but less regulated, so that consumer
protection measures are reduced or dissolved.”

Mr.
Tingle goes on to claim that not only Betfair
but also PokerStars and PokerNews are on the published
lists, although whether this is true or not is
difficult to confirm in an official capacity.

So,
the big question comes back to authenticity: Are
the lists really the official black lists of the
Australian government?

That
still hasn't been confirmed -- and perhaps cannot
be, given the understandable reluctance of Aussie
politicians to claim responsibility for such a
controversial topic.

Independent Australian news agency Crikey has
been reporting furiously on the topic, publicly
calling on Senator Conroy's office to confirm
whether or not the new lists were indeed the ACMA
blacklist. The jury is still out on whether or
not it is, but the lack of an official denial
or confirmation is just adding fuel to the fires
of controversy at this point.

If
there's a silver lining, it's this: Perhaps this
storm of criticism will inspire the Aussie government
to rethink the very notion of Internet censorship,
a concept to which most citizens seem firmly opposed.